


Birds of a Feather

by ZevakRitpel



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Historical, F/F, Friends With Benefits, Give them time, M/M, Prostitution, Rival Relationship, Unrequited Love, but like a fake historical time period so not rlly historical but like not modern either u feel me, tag more as chapters update - Freeform, to lovers...
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-17
Updated: 2018-01-17
Packaged: 2019-03-05 21:49:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13396935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZevakRitpel/pseuds/ZevakRitpel
Summary: Pun-riddled romance between two pining sharp-tongued rival Prophets, and a saucy red vs blue 1v1 between rival warriors.A lot of spice, a little drama, some backstory,  a touch of side-romance. Maybe a fight or two. Maybe.





	Birds of a Feather

**Author's Note:**

> take a shot every time u read "eye" in this godforsaken fic
> 
> real talk this is another self-indulgent piece, basically i couldn't believe my EYES that i hadn't yet worked with izu, prince of my heart, prettyboy, little punmaster who's so so so much more than just that. so HERE IT IS. basically just me messing around with different titles and powers and setups, it'll be less political intrigue than it could be, more just antics and soggy backstory, but as enya says, who can say where the road goes. not me. 
> 
> i hope u enjoy ur stay!!!!!
> 
> btw if u recognize me from other fics and think to urself "why isn't this wench updating???" i'm doing my best i got like 30 docs open. MORE schoolwork means MORE reason to update fics instead aMIRITE? /FELLAS/?

**[And He’s Watching Us All With the Eye...of the Taiga]**

Kagami, hungering for the  _ thrill of the fight _ , sits in a hall dense with the scent of raw power, surrounded by the highest tier of elite warriors in the country. Explicit instructions to “sit right here” and “behave” and “seriously don’t move I’ll kill you Bakagami” were given to him about half an hour ago. 

Boring, but it’s not like he’s gonna start a fight or anything. Jeez. 

The hall is massive and regal, with creamy beige curtains and rich red tapestries covering the ceiling and walls. A warm yellow glow illuminates the space, but the source of light remains a mystery. Similarly, the faint  plucky melody of some string instrument rings through the din of the crowd, but no player is in sight.

Everything is refined and intricately designed, even the low wooden tables arranged throughout the hall. As expected from host Rakuzan, the kingdom’s most powerful clan, and host to this most resplendent celebration of the leading clans.

...Or so Kagami is told. This is all pretty new to the fresh new warrior who hails from a much different kingdom. 

He’s is sitting by one of the back tables, folded awkwardly on silk cushion that is way too small for his ass, just praying he’s wearing his decorative soldier’s uniform properly. Black and white robes lined with red, folded over his chest asymmetrically to expose his left shoulder. Ankles, wrists and biceps bound with black metal bands; feet bare.

Technically no weapons allowed for such a peaceful and illustrious event, but Kagami’s never been one to wield anything but his blazing force of will. That, and his undeniably superhuman skill in hand-to-hand combat. Hah. 

Setting aside from his unquenched desire to one-on-one some of these powerhouses, Kagami is also hungering in the more literal sense. 

Just as he’s about to take advantage of the only good thing about this banquet and shove an entire platter of ...whatever the fuck these little white puffy things are…a man appears suddenly.

The sensation of being taken off guard like this is not unfamiliar to Kagami. But he wasn’t expecting it to happen without Kuroko around. This ..surprise man...bounces down to Kagami’s level out of nowhere, a shiny golden whirlwind, as if manifesting from the mysterious lights. 

“Hey~” he hums, then pauses as Kagami coughs up the food currently lodged in his trachea. Blinking through the tears of agitation sprinkling his eyes, Kagami blearily gives this guy a once over:

Ornate silver chains hang off his exposed chest, jewelry dangling from his wrists and ankles, chiming gently with his every movement. Stunning blue cloths wrapped around his waist. He’s tall (but not as tall as Kagami, hmph), and built (....but not as much as Kagami...maybe), exuding all the essence of a highly trained soldier. 

Ah, but there’s thin white veil covering his eyes...so he’s one of the ‘Prophets’? 

Either way, Kagami’s nose flares: he smells dangerous.

“Seirin clan-chan, right? Right? Say, where’s Kurokocchi ??”

Maybe it’s just a trick of light, but there seem to be sparkles floating around this guy’s eager expression.

“Kurokoch-??? Uhhh, Kuroko?”

Several eager nods. The veil flutters from the motions, revealing a glint of gold for a brief hiss of a second.

“N-no, he was kept back ‘cuz of-........due to inju-”

The sparkles immediately wane and fall, as soon as it’s clear Kuroko is not here. The man lets out a sigh of unmasked disappointment.

“Ah, is that so...he’s really not here, then. That’s too bad,” he remarks dryly, the original warmth in his voice cooling in an instant. He’s already turning his attention away from Kagami, rising to leave.

Wh-

WHO does this fucking guy think he is?! 

The first person he talks to in this fancy ass party and it’s some weird asshole. 

A blood vessel pulses under Kagami’s eye, and he too half-rises, mouth open, ready to snap. But as the golden Prophet gets up, Kagami catches a scent...a flowery incense….no, aside from that….could it be?

Blood?

“Oi-  AHH!” 

Kagami is cut off by a sharp pain to the back of his head and falls back down to his seat.

“Coach!--ah no, Riko--.....Aida-..............sama?”

“Calm down idiot. I leave you alone for five minutes….do you even know who that was?”

So snaps Aida Riko, co-leader and clan representative to Seirin, i.e. Kagami’s new boss. She takes a seat next to him, her sharp brown eyes half-glaring, half-amused.

“Uhhh,” Kagami mumbles, eyes watering, not sure how to respond to what is almost surely a rhetorical question..

“Kise Ryouta. The esteemed battle-prophet of the Kaijo clan. Bakagami. You should know at least that much.” 

_ Battle-prophet?! _

“So he’s strong ..”

“What do you think.”

Well ,yeah. Still. What was that before….the smell of someone else’s blood, or …?

“Whatever, he was asking for Kuroko? Is he like, famous or something?”

Riko sighs heavily, pulling an ornate fan from within her uniform robes and snapping it open and closed a few times.

“I had him stay back because I know he’s a little too popular with this crowd, but I didn’t realize his connections ran that high up,” she mutters absently, fanning herself a little. 

“What’ve you got here?” she veers a bit abruptly from the subject, and gestures to the little white puffs Kagami had choked on mere minutes ago. 

“Mmrm, these are pretty good. Maybe I should try making them sometim-”

“NO THAT’S OKAY, COACH” 

“And just what do you mean by that,  _ Kagami-kun _ ? HMMM?” 

As Kagami dodges a hit-to-kill from Riko, he feels something bump into his back. 

he feels his elbow hit something behind. 

He looks up to apologize:

“Ah my bad-” 

A pair of bespectacled green eyes glare down at him. Great. Another weirdo, this one slightly taller than the last. Long, conservatively fitted robes the colour of fire; a single onion sitting in the palm of his bandaged hands; green hair, bangs falling over his glasses to add a more sinister shade to his face. 

There’s a lot going on here. Kagami glares back, his prevalent animal instincts telling him not to back down from this confrontation. A long pause, at least thirty seconds, where they stay perfectly still, eyes locked in a stalemate.

Who knows how long this would last, if not for the interference of a third party. A man in similar robes -- same clan?-- tugs at the sleeve of Kagami’s opponent, pulling him away.

“WHAT are you doing, Takao’s about to take his place, let’s  _ go _ Midorima” 

Even as he’s being dragged away, the Green Onion-Wielding Asshole maintains eye contact with Kagami. Just before he’s taken out of earshot, he narrows his eyes, and says clearly:

“Hmph.So this is where Kuroko decided to lay his loyalties?  _ Pathetic _ .” 

?

 

??????? 

 

MMMMMMMMMMMWhat. Is wrong with these people?!?!?!?

“Who the fuck-?”

“Midorima Shintarou. Archer for Shutoku, they say his aim is infallible,” Riko leans in to explain , shoving a few more puffs into her mouth aggressively. The implied slight against the Seirin clan does not go unnoticed.

“Why’s everyone here so…” 

Riko smacks Kagami on the back, but this time with 23% less force.

“You’re starting to get it,” she smirks, ruffling his hair a little.

“Where’s Izuki-senpai?” 

Riko nods to the front of the hall. The representative Prophets sit together, as the honourable guests of the evening. Six in total, from the six most powerful clans here tonight.    

There’s Izuki-senpai, sitting completely still. His eyes are covered but it’s clear he’s out if it. What’s he spacing out for ...ugh, probably thinking of some stupid fucking joke.

“Izuki? So he really made it here today...how unexpected~”

Riko and Kagami both fwip their heads around fast enough to get whiplash.

Two enemies spotted this time, both clad in foreboding black and dark blue cloth. To the left is the man who spoke, a fox-like man with a sly smile and reflective glasses. His smile curls in a little more sinisterly as he sees Riko and Kagami’s reactions to his words.

“Ah, forgive me. My congratulations to the Seirin clan’s promotion.” This is directed at Riko, who forces a polite smile and bows in thanks. 

Probably. Kagami can’t be sure, not when his pulse is racing and the hairs of his arms are raised. 

A powerful scent. No, not just powerful--menacing. Offensive.  _ Directed _ .

The man to the right, dark-skinned with the  god body muscular build, a bored expression on his face. Even as he just stands there, lazily stifling a yawn, he still exudes such a presence…..?

He tilts his head back to yawn harder, but as he does, his blue eyes flick back and catch Kagami’s intense stare. Ah, just like the ocean. An inexplicable tug of nostalgia overcomes Kagami, and he feels his breath catch in his throat. 

The man smirks.

“Cute.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


MOTHER FUC-

 

**[Bird’s Eye View]**

...This place really is crawling with VIPs. A  _ lot  _ of e _ lit _ es. Ehh...the wordplay needs work... A  _ fleet _ of elites? No, that’s even worse. 

Izuki Shun, Prophet to the Seirin Clan, bearer of the Eagle Eye: That Sees From Above, has yet to accustom to the fact that he too is now one of those ‘elites’. 

He can’t help but feel out of place in this hall of veritable monsters; warriors, leaders, and prophets whose names and clans are all dripping with power and renown, while his own name and clan have been kept in the dark until recently. No one prepared him for this dizzying fate of being displayed as an honourable guest in the country’s most esteemed event.

Still, Izuki maintains a calm composure: his posture perfect, but not overly rigid, as he sits atop his appointed cushion seat. At the very least, he’s no stranger to performing under pressure.

Gently, he brushes his fingertips against the shimmery white veil hanging over his face, testing the feel of the silky material.

It makes sense, having the clan Prophets to shroud their eyes as a symbol of good faith. An occasion like this calls for a ceasefire, no matter the current relations or political climates. Plenty of information will go around over the next few days, but keeping the Prophets and their notoriously lucrative powers on a leash is probably for the best. 

Izuzki can still easily see through the milky fabric, which was specially designed to obscure his ‘eagle eye’. He scans the crowd below to see what the others are up to:

In the far right at the back, Riko is dragging Kagami away from...is that Touou’s prodigy warrior? First time at a formal celebration and Kagami-kun’s already starting a fight, such hot-blooded youth~

Kuroko and Hyuuga stayed behind, so that leaves...where’s Teppei? Izuki can’t see him…. 

The prophets are arranged on a raised platform, in a row, with the two most powerful clan Prophets seated in the centre. 

Firstly, head of the Rakuzan Clan, as well as tonight’s host, Akashi Seijuro, bearer of the Emperor Eye: That Sees Beyond. White formal robes trimmed with pale blue  hang from his small but imposing frame like wings. No jewelry save the rings on his left hand, said to represent each one of four his respective generals. King’s rings. 

Laughing merrily to Akashi’s right, sits the glittering force of charisma that is Kise Ryota, warrior and prophet to Clan Kaijo, bearer of the Capturing Eye: That Becomes What It Sees. 

Whether on the battlefield or in the bedroom, Kise’s reputation and accomplishments reach far beyond expectations. His aura is bright but untouchable. Ice cold gold.

Next to Kise is Momoi Satsuki, the jewel of powerhouse clan Touou, bearer of the All-seeing Eye: That Sees Within.

Peachy pink hair, the colour of cherry blossoms, ripples down her back, in stark contrast to her imposing black robes. Whenever Momoi moves, the shimmers of satiny dark blue butterfly print illuminates under the warm glow of the hall’s lights. 

Easily the most notorious for information-gathering and tactical analysis that brings her clan’s physical prowess to almost pure victory in times of conflict. 

Izuki sits beside  Momoi, at the end of the row. Fitting for a member of ‘dark horse’ clan Seirin and especially fitting for Izuki himself, who is well aware that his personal reputation has earned him some….. _ less formal _ names. He wouldn’t mind this much, but..

There are two empty seats to Akashi-sama’s left: One for  the yet-to-arrive Prophet of Yosen, and the last for Kazunari Takao of Shutoku, bearer of the Hawk’s Eye: That Sees The Unseen. Like Izuki, his place is at the end of the row. For a reason. 

Kazunari’s seat is empty because he’s right here, chatting happily (and LOUDLY) with Momoi Satsuki. In contrast to the other Prophets, he wears his robes (of a gaudy, imposing orange) casually, slipping off one shoulder and exposing part of his bare chest. Black beads, like those of a temple priest, dangle from his wrists, rattling happily with every emphasized wave of his hands.

Izuki tries not to pay attention, as he has a hard time dealing with these two. Even covered, eyes that have the ability to see hidden things, behind a person’s heart ….uncomfortable.

“And who would’ve thought the five clans-- ah I suppose now it’s the six clans”. 

There is a pause, where Momoi and Kazunari turn their veiled faces expectantly towards Izuki. A delicate black fabric veil for Kazunari; deep scarlet for Momoi. Thin enough to betray cloudy glimpses of dangerous, curious gazes.

It’s times like these Izuki finds himself envying his sweet little kouhai Kuroko’s uncanny ability to be ignored. How to misdirect unwanted attention...

“Izuki-san. This is the first time we’ve met under formal circumstances, yes?” So says Momoi, holding up an elegant glass decanter full of red liquid. She fills a silver chalice and offers it to Izuki, who nods politely and accepts the drink with both hands.

Sip.The taste is sweet, fragrant. A flower wine?  

“Fermented flower-….fer-men….for men to ferment petals and...peddle them as wine. Ah. Not bad…” Izuki mutters to himself, wishing Riko had let him bring along his notebook.

“Hm?” 

“Yes, the first time for us, although I’ve had the pleasure of conversing with the Touou clan leader on several occasions,” Izuki replies without missing a beat, taking another mouthful of wine. That was a little reference; no doubt she’ll get it. 

She does. Momoi’s lips twitch up, but she swallows her budding smirk by popping a cherry into her mouth.

“Our Imayoshi-san has been in your care.” That’s one way to put it. 

“Ehhh~, what’s this?” Kazunari chimes in, resting his chin on his palm, shifting his long legs to fold them. Relaxed, confident movements.

“So Seirin’s  _ songbird  _ has a voice after all? I’m glad, I thought we’d be getting the silent treatment from Izuki-san all night~” 

He raises his own chalice to his lips, pausing to gauge Izuki’s reaction.

A Hawk calling an Eagle a songbird, he certainly doesn’t hold back. Though he’ll have to try harder to test Izuki; with this level of boldness, two can play.

Izuki tilts his head to the side, almost coyly, pressing his fingers against the red band wrapped around his throat.

“Ah, I’m sure you’ve heard, I typically only put my mouth to use after an exchange gold.”

Kazunari nearly spits his wine out. He reaches behind his veil to presumably wipe away the speckles of tears from his eyes.

“OHhhh my Gods, Izuki-san...wh-..whatever can you mean?” 

“I find it hard to believe that the infamous Hawk’s Eye couldn’t see that before I worked as a pro-” 

The words catch in Izuki’s throat. Wait. Wait wait wait. 

He clicks his tongue and glares sharply, taking both Kazunari and Momoi aback. Did he finally get upset…? 

“Before i was a prophet I was sold for a profit --, OH. NICE ONE, ME “ 

Momoi can only stare blankly, while Kazunari succumbs to a fit of silent laughter.

This somewhat absurd bonding moment is interrupted by the belated arrival of the Yosen Clan.

Lead by a small but formidable dark-haired woman with sheathed twin swords at her hips, the Clan enters the hall in succession. Their gentle flowing white and lavender robes do not suit their imposing statures at all.

The din of the hall quiets down as the Yosen clan makes their way to their appointed seats, and so their mumbled conversation can be heard even from here:

“Maybe if Muro-chin hadn’t gotten lost along the way….” 

“In his defense, Atsushi, he’s pretty blind right now”

“Ehhhhhh, whatever”

The final Prophet is here, the enigmatic Himuro Tatsuya, bearer of the Blind Eye: That Remains Sightless. In lieu of a veil, Himuro has white bandages covering both eyes, rendering him quite literally sightless. He is escorted up to his seat with the rest of the Prophets by violet menace Murasakibara Atsushi, the ace warrior of Yosen.    
  
At last, it is time for the introduction ceremony. Takao rises to return to his place, at the other end of the row. For a fraction of a second, his laughing expression falters, mouth set in a hard line. 

_ Hawk _ ward? No, more like...solemn...somber.....som _ bird _ .  _ Nice. _

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE leave a comment to keep my heart warm on these cold cold winter nights and also days


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